Torchwood Relics
by Jessie Blackwood
Summary: When Sydney Fox gets a letter from an old friend in Oxford concerning the location of an ancient artefact she jumps at the chance to find out more but the artefact in question is alien and you know Torchwood, if its alien, its theirs!


**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, etc. etc. etc. no infringement of copyright intended, etc, etc. just playing with them, like everyone else here.**

**Warning: Explicit, MA for adult themes. Jack/Ianto, Sydney/Jack and Nigel/Ianto pairings (possibly) and (maybe) even Jack/Ianto/Nigel (if I can persuade them) slash/swearing. **

**_I am really not sure about this one. I liked writing it, just not sure where its going. Those little plot bunnies... just seemed right to blend ancient artefacts with alien ones and two dominant Americans each with a British assistant...so here goes._  
**

**Sydney Fox is onto something, an ancient artefact of incredible power and its hidden in the UK. When her assistant Nigel receives an urgent letter and needs to return home to visit his family, Sydney accompanies him. Nigel has a favour to ask, would she pretend, please, to be his girlfriend? His mother thinks he's gay, and he's determined to prove her wrong. However he didn't reckon on meeting a young Welshman who likes to wear suits as much as he does and the Welshman's boss, who just happens to be more than just a boss. However, the Artefact in question is alien, and where the Torchwood team are involved, if its alien, its theirs.**

The day Sydney Fox had received the letter was the day Nigel decided he needed to got home to visit. He had also received a letter. Not an email, his mother would have nothing to do with the digital age and flatly refused to use a computer when a good old fashioned pen would do. He was also looking worried, nothing new for Nigel – he was a perpetual worrier – but something about his expression said more. Sydney looked at him through the internal office window and knew something wasn't right. Her assistant was quieter than usual. Oh well, he would no doubt tell her if it was important.

She went back to the letter she had received, a packet containing documents and scraps of research that a friend of hers, a professor in England, had been putting together for her. He had just published a paper on the item she was interested in and he had sent her a copy of it. Combined with what she already had she was excited to see things falling into place. She was on the scent of her latest quest and already this one was moving faster than she'd hoped. She had enough to begin the search for real. She just had to get permission from her boss to go on a field trip.

Nigel was quiet for the whole morning. He helped her with the lessons and lectures as he usually did, in his careful 'English' way, but something about him was subdued, almost sad. At lunch, she pinned him down about it in her usual forthright way.

"Nigel, what's wrong?"

He looked at her in that slightly panicked way he had, as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and then his face dropped. "Its my father" he murmured "he's apparently very ill, he's been taken to hospital"

Sydney was moved to put her arm round him, not something she usually did but this was different. He looked…vulnerable, somehow, more than usual anyway. "Do you need to go home?"

"Mother says I'm not to worry, they're doing tests at the moment."

"Well, I need to visit the UK anyway, I got some information this morning concerning the 'Stone of Thorns', you know the one?"

He looked hopefully at her "The stone Jesus laid the crown of thorns on when he visited England with Joseph of Arimathea?" she nodded and said "You and I need to go there, you can visit home and I can visit my friend, Professor Harper. He's just sent me the information I need to begin a field trip there."

"Way to go Dad" Owen said, reading his emails.

"Pardon?" Tosh looked across at him and frowned "I thought you didn't have a father?"

"Contrary to expectations, I do, we just don't talk any more. He's a University Professor who never forgave me for not becoming a brilliant research biologist like he figured I ought to."

"So what's he done?"

"Oh, just published a paper on one of the more obscure ancient artefacts which I am fairly positive is an alien medical device" he was interrupted by the door alarm going off.

"And what would that be Owen?" Jack came into the Hub, closely followed by Ianto who looked a little worse for wear.

"You're late!" Owen said "Grief, what were you two up to last night? No! Don't answer that!" he said as Jack opened his mouth.

"Its only a hangover." Ianto muttered "I'll go make the coffee."

"So Tea Boy let his hair down did he?"

"Just a bit" Jack sounded chagrined.

"Oho, hammered sounds more like it. What's matter, couldn't he get it up?"

"Shut up Owen and tell me what you were talking about" Jack said pointedly.

"Oh, ah, yes. Just my Father…"

"I thought…"

"Well you thought wrong…Why does everyone think I haven't got a father? I'm not some mythical figure who came into being without one. I think mum would have had something to say about that…"

"Just get on with it Owen."

Owen huffed and looked back at his computer screen "It says here, he's published a paper on the Stone of Thorns."

"The what?" Tosh asked.

"The Stone of Thorns." and when he received blank looks he went on to explain "Legend has it that Jesus made a pilgrimage to England with Joseph of Arimathea after he had…you know, risen again or whatever. That's where the Glastonbury Thorn is thought to have come from. It was supposed to be Joseph's staff that he thrust into the ground and it sprouted leaves and blossom. Well, some legends say that they brought the grail cup and the crown of thorns with them and both holy artefacts were hidden in this country somewhere."

"The grail has been hunted for centuries." Jack offered "Some people think it refers to Jesus' bloodline, not an artefact. The Sangreal or something."

"Yeah, well, the cup was supposed to be buried in Chalice Well near Glastonbury Tor, the spring that never runs dry. No one has ever found it of course but people drink the water just in case."

"so this stone…"

"Is where Jesus is supposed to have rested the Crown of Thorns. The stone was said to have acquired healing properties. Now this stone has been lost for centuries, although someone in the 16th century claimed to have found it, resting beneath the waters of Chalice Well. It was kept by a local family until it was stolen in the early 17th century and nobody knew where it went. Various healing miracles were attributed to it, you know, the usual stuff. If you touched it, you were miraculously cured. Someone blind from birth could see, numerous people cured of diseases, but" he said dramatically "One particular case made the headlines…or what passed for headlines in those days. This guy was a thief, had his hand cut off after being caught. But low and behold, he touched it and it grew his hand back. He took holy orders and repented, lived in a monastery for the rest of his life. Half a century later, it disappears. Some people thought the church had nicked it but nothing was ever proved. Now my father, bless him, thinks he knows where it might be."

"But you think its alien in origin?"

"Yes, I do. It stands to reason most of these so called legendary artefacts probably had powers the medieval folk didn't understand and attributed to either God and miracles or the Devil and Hell. Either way, wouldn't be surprised if you could explain most of the world's legendary stuff as exactly that. What references there are to this thing suggest it emanated rainbow light as it 'healed', activated more like."

"I had no idea you were so interested in history Owen." Jack said.

"I'm not, but…" he paused "This thing has healing powers. If there's even a grain of truth in it, I want to find it." he grimaced as Ianto brought their coffee, looking him up and down "These days we seem to need all the regenerative powers we can get!"

The flight from the US was longer than Sydney would have liked and not as comfortable as she'd hoped. The University wouldn't swing for them travelling first class. They arrived, jet lagged and tired, at Heathrow, delayed by more than six hours. Sydney was tired and irritable. Nigel was listless. They got a taxi to the hotel and retired to their respective rooms with barely a word said between them. A shower and a good night's sleep made things much better though, at least for Syd. She went down to breakfast to find Nigel already there and she joined him and ordered toast and coffee. He was tucking into a 'full English'.

"I've missed this" he said between mouthfuls of bacon and eggs "I know I can get this back home but it tastes better here somehow."

"Yeah, well, you look better this morning."

"Thank you Sydney, I am." he paused "I phoned mother this morning. My father's still very ill and he's still got a long way to go but the doctors seem optimistic apparently. They think its some kind of virus. I'm to meet her at the hospital in Oxford. She's invited us to stay with her."

"That's nice of her."

"Look, Sydney, I have a… a request to make, er…if you don't want to, I'll understand if you can't, but…"

"What is it Nigel?" Sydney sighed, half expecting what came next.

"I…I wouldn't ask…but…" he sighed "My mother is determined to think I'm gay…if I could turn up with a girl…"

"You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?"

"Please, it would make my life so much easier…"

"But you're not gay…are you?"

"NO! I'm not…you know that. But mother is harder to convince…"

Sydney sighed and sipped her coffee "Yugh…why does no one make good coffee in this country?" she shuddered, then sighed "Alright Nigel, if it'll make you happy….but we get separate rooms!"

"Oh God, you do not have to worry about that. My mother would never think of giving us anything else. Sex before marriage is not in her vocabulary!"

"Good, that's settled then. Just when we're in her company mind…"

Nigel smiled "Thank you Syd."

"Yes, well, don't let it go to your head."

Jack looked at the notes Owen had given him and frowned. This looked as if it would need investigating and soon. Professor Harper had made plans for an archaeological dig. He had found 'vital evidence' to suggest there was a place on the edge of Glastonbury which he was determined to dig up. Unless they could get there first and locate the artefact using their technology, there might be a problem. Tosh was tinkering with their 'alien metal detector' as Owen called it. In reality it was a sophisticated piece of location equipment that Tosh had been tinkering with for some time now, gradually piecing its abilities together. It had already found Owen's car keys where he had dropped them in the firing range and seemed to work on a low level psychic link which tapped into the imagination. Concentrate on what you were looking for and it homed in on it. You needed a focussed imagination though, otherwise it would get confused. No use finding your car instead of the keys. The more urgent the need, the better it seemed to get. Well, their need was getting urgent, so Jack hoped it would work for them. He set about making plans for their field trip and called a meeting to discuss it.

Sydney sat back in the sofa and cradled her cup of tea. Professor Harper didn't drink coffee. She had arrived at the University to find him making plans to commence the dig at Glastonbury and greeted his old friend by immediately offered her a place on it, assuring her that her expertise would be more than welcome. She had agreed and they were settled in to discussing the preparations. Nigel had met his mother at the hospital and, after greeting the woman with a firm handshake and exchanged pleasantries, had left him there, not before giving him a kiss on the cheek that left him blushing and a "Goodbye Darling, I'll see you tonight" which had left his mother in no doubt that her son had at last done the right thing and got himself a girlfriend. He had explained to his mother that his 'girlfriend' was a university professor and was gratified to see that the woman had been suitably impressed, although a little miffed that Sydney hadn't accompanied him to visit his father. She had soon got over that when he said that Sydney hadn't wanted to intrude on a family matter and, besides, she had an appointment with a professor at Oxford concerning some research she was doing. She would join them for dinner later.

"So, that's the plan People." Jack said "We go to Glastonbury, we find this thing and we come home, all before anyone notices its gone."

"Its that simple?" Gwen was sceptical "Since when was it ever that simple?"

"Its always that simple" Jack said "Life is simple. You breath or you die. What gets in the way is the stuff we have no control over, that's the bit that isn't simple." Gwen rolled her eyes, typical Jack, she thought.

"I'll man the hub." Owen muttered.

"I'll need you Owen." Jack said.

"Why? It's a bloody alien artefact, I don't need to be there. I can look when you get it back."

"Owen…"

"No!" he snapped "Nothing you can say or do will make me come with you. I am not speaking to my father ever again so don't think you can use me."

"Owen, I wasn't intending to…"

"Bollocks!" Owen muttered.

"Fine, stay in the car. But you're coming with us, end of story." Jack snapped.

"Make me!"

"Don't push it Harper."

"I said 'make me' Harkness" his voice was low and dangerous.

"No coffee for the rest of the year." Ianto interjected gently "Decaff maybe?"

Owen glowered at him "God, you've turned into Jack's Bitch haven't you?"

"Oh yeah." Ianto murmured, Tosh and Gwen both laughed and Jack smothered a smile. Owen huffed angrily down his nose, then said "I'm staying in the car. First attempt you make to get me out and I'll shoot you in the bollocks!"

"Fine" Jack conceded "Tosh, how's the detector coming?"

"Calibrated as near as I can get it to the human mind, but its like I'm making it too crude to be fully effective. I think it was used to finer minds than ours."

"It'll have to do." he looked at them all "Well, go pack. We're setting off this evening, 5pm, I expect you back here by 4 and nobody pack more than one bag!"

Sydney looked at Paul Harper and frowned "Did you say you thought this was the site of an old manor house?"

"Yes, although I had to dig deep to find the records. It was owned by a family called Ambrose. The place is supposed to have burned down with the family inside it, nothing left. It was flattened, abandoned and left as common grazing land. Nobody would even attempt to build on it, they said the ground was cursed."

"Because of the fire?"

"They said the devil had laid them low." he smiled "I traced the records of the Ambrose family fortunes and it rises shortly after the stone was stolen from the Lathams in the early 17th century. The Ambrose family were Royalists but they remained safe throughout the Civil War. They even prospered where others perished. One of their members was dying then miraculously healed but no one made mention of how. The Ambrose family were also friends with the Lathams who had been the previous holders of the stone. Now, do you not think it coincidence that their fortunes rise shortly after the stone went missing? It is my personal opinion that one of the Ambrose sons stole it and hid it in the house, but his deed came back to haunt them all. I do not know if the stone was removed but shortly after the fire, when the lands had gone back to grazing, stories were still told of cows healed of their ills by eating the grass and children cured of disease when they drank the cows milk. The locals said it was God forgiving the family their sins. However, I would say that it was too much to ignore, would you not agree?"

"Yes, I would. So you're planning the dig at Glastonbury and you hope to locate the manor…"

"Well, we have already done the ground work. Geo-physics has given us some wonderful readings, we know where the house stood. All we need to do is to work out now is where the stone might have been kept. Thresholds are a common burial place for such things, assuming it was buried at all. If we find the doors to the rooms we find where to put our trenches."

Dinner that evening was a civilised affair, everyone minding their manners and Sydney feeling out of place in such an English setting.

"Dr Harper has asked me to join him on the dig Honey." she said, keeping up the pretence. Nigel's mother seemed to have accepted her anyway.

"Oh, that's nice." Nigel replied "How long will you be gone?"

"Gone? You're not coming with me?"

"Oh Nigel, you can't leave the girl on her own, University Professor or not" his mother had said "You must go too. Your father is holding his own, there's nothing you can do here." she said bravely. Even though his mother was a forthright and dominant woman in her own right, she loved her husband and was plainly worried.

"But I can't leave you." he said "Father isn't out of the woods yet, how will you cope?"

"As I have always done darling, on my own." she smiled "No, you must both go. I know how to reach you, its not as if you'll be thousands of miles away. Your brother is coming up in a few days too so I won't be on my own then. Make the most of your time here, go and be useful. I'll let you know immediately if there's any change." and so it was settled. They would depart the following day.

"How the hell are we supposed to find anything in the dark?" Gwen asked nobody in particular as they stood in the windswept field. It was well after one in the morning. They had been sweeping the area with the detector for hours and everyone was cold and irritable. All apart from Owen who refused to come out of the vehicle.

"I said no." he said when they arrived "I told you I wasn't coming out of this car."

"Owen, you are not likely to meet your father at this time of night, they're not even here yet." but Owen had stuck to his principles.

Tosh glanced at the readings "I think its because we're working blind, we don't even really know what we're looking for."

Jack sighed "We need more information on what this thing could look like."

Gwen sighed "Well I vote we get back to the car and break out the coffee."

In the car it was certainly warmer and Ianto had brought thermoses full of coffee and packets of sandwiches. There was something about the camaraderie of drinking coffee and eating sandwiches in the car at 1.30 in the morning with friends that made them all happier. They were stuck there, they had no hotel, but the SUV was warm and they were together. They ended up sharing jokes and the tension that had been building up eased off considerably.

"I vote we go back out for one more try, then call it a night and head off to speak to Owen's dad in the morning." Jack said "Don't worry!" he stalled Owen as he opened his mouth "I'm not expecting you to perform introductions. Ianto and I can go."

The 'one more try' proved fruitless but somehow they were not daunted by it. Jack drove them to Oxford and they slept in the car as he navigated round the city, finding the local Police station and going inside while everyone was still dozing in the comfort of the SUV's warmth.

"Yes Sir" the duty Sergeant said as he entered.

"Torchwood" Jack said flashing an ID. The Sergeant peered at it and raised his eyebrows.

"First time we're had one of you lot here." he said "The aliens have landed have they?"

Jack flashed a grin "What, nothing exciting happens round here?"

"Haha, nothing of that nature Sir. At least, not to my knowledge. Now, what can we do for you?"

"Captain Jack Harkness, I'd like to speak to your Duty Officer."

"That would be DI Drake Sir. I'll just have a word." and he lifted the phone. Jack retreated to a plastic bench seat and yawned, running his hands through his hair.

"He's on his way down Sir" the Sergeant said and Jack smiled a thank you.

DI Drake was a small wiry man in his thirties, too blunt featured to be attractive and resembling a small tenacious terrier. He looked Jack up and down and said "Morning Sir? My Sergeant tells me you're from Torchwood?" he sounded plainly sceptical.

"Yes Sir" Jack got to his feet, several inches taller than the DI, and produced his ID. Drake took it and examined it, then gave it back, satisfied "So Sir, what can we do for you?"

"There's an archaeological dig scheduled to start today near Glastonbury Tor. One of the University Professors from Oxford Institute of Archaeology, Dr Paul Harper, is leading it. I need it stopped."

"Now why would you want to do that?"

"I have reason to believe it might have been the scene of a crime and I need it cordoned off."

"What crime would that be Sir?"

"Oh I don't know, make something up. All I need is for it to be cordoned off for 48 hours, that's all. We need the area clear and we need to get to it before they destroy vital evidence. Can you manage that?"

"Well, if you don't mind the paperwork at the other end, I can have that area sealed off so tight not even a fly will get past without permission" he smiled "Can you tell me anything?" he asked, knowing the answer already "Anything at all?"

"No, sorry. Classified I'm afraid."

DI Drake sighed "Ah well, something to tell the kids though." he said thoughtfully "They're always saying how boring it is round here. They won't believe me if I tell them Torchwood came calling."

"Yeah, well, boring is safe Detective Inspector. Can you have a word with the locals and get things moving?"

"I'll see what I can do. Can you wait?"

"Sure."

"I'll have to see who I can rouse in the Somerset Constabulary, might be a while."

"I'll be in the car then, my colleagues are waiting."

"Where are you parked?"

"There's a big black SUV outside with Torchwood on the side, you can't miss us." and he strode back out.

Owen and Ianto were awake when he returned, the girls were still sleeping.

"Where the hell have you been?" Owen hissed as he climbed back inside.

"Arranging for the dig to be stopped. DI Drake is currently speaking to the Somerset Police to get the site cordoned off as a crime scene" he glanced outside at the sky, dawn was coming up "now, lets get checked into a hotel, have some breakfast and then make an appointment to see your father. I have lots of questions to ask him."

As soon as DI Drake had returned to let him know that the wheels were in motion and the site should be secure in an hour or so, they drove to the nearest big hotel and checked in. Gwen and Tosh shared a room, Owen had one to himself, it went without saying that Ianto and Jack would share another. Jack looked at his watch.

"Well, its 6am" he said "Can't do much of anything for an hour, then we get breakfast and go talk to Dr Harper"

"You go talk to Dr Harper, I think everybody needs sleep Jack. The girls are knackered and so is Owen."

Jack paused "You figure?" he shrugged "OK, sounds like a plan. I can't see the need for us all to go anyway." he paused and grinned at Ianto as the man dragged his pyjamas out of his overnight bag and pulled them on. The pyjama bottoms were soft brushed cotton and Jack shivered, he loved the feel of them. Bare chested, Ianto looked inviting and Jack couldn't resist. His arms snaked around Ianto's chest and he kissed his shoulders "Got an hour, what say we…have a little fun?"

"Jack please" Ianto protested "Tired here. You know, not much sleep last night…" he groaned as he felt Jack's hands massaging his aching muscles. Sleeping in a car was not the best way to rest. The hands were working their magic again.

"Oh, you can sleep later." Jack said "We get so little time alone..."

"Jack, you're insatiable."

"That's why you love me." he planted a soft kiss on Ianto's lips and the younger man was powerless to resist. One thing lead to another, until they ended up in the shower, hot water slicking over them as they enjoyed each other's bodies. As always Jack had Ianto up against the wall, driving deep inside him, feeling him tighten around him as he came. That triggered his own climax and Ianto felt Jack's release, bracing himself against Jack's thrusts. They dried off and then Ianto climbed wearily into bed and was asleep in moments, the endorphins from lovemaking still whirling round his body. Jack got dressed and left him to sleep, dropping a 'do not disturb' sign on the door as he went downstairs. He went straight to the main desk and asked for the University's number, the reception girl finding it in the book for him.

"Oxford University, which department?" came the lively reply.

"Archaeology please, I'm trying to reach Dr Paul Harper."

"Thank you, please hold." classical music came down the line and suddenly there was a click and "Oxford University Archaeological Institute, my name is Amanda, how can I help?" came the bright and breezy reply.

"Amanda." Jack sounded as if he'd known her all his life "I need to speak to Dr Paul Harper, would he be available?"

"Professor Harper won't be in until 9 and then he's busy all day. He's leaving on a dig today."

"I think you'll find that might have to be postponed." Jack said and went on to outline the nature of his call "Please give Dr Harper this number and ask him to call me as soon as he gets in, thank you." and he went in to breakfast.

Sydney arrived at Paul Harper's office to find he was in a meeting with someone who had turned up out of the blue and was, to go by Harper's tone, not welcome at all. Sydney knocked on the door and Harper opened it to admit her, looking thunderous.

"Paul? What's wrong?" Sydney asked, concerned for her friend and colleague.

"The Dig's been cancelled!" Harper muttered angrily, gesturing to his visitor. Harper's visitor stood to greet the newcomer, looking at her with curiosity. He was tall, blue eyes in a handsome face, short dark hair. Sydney was struck by the odd attire, an RAF greatcoat over a blue shirt, grey trousers and braces.

"Postponed Professor, not cancelled." the man said, his American accent not lost on Syd. Harper huffed irritably.

"By the time the Police have been over the ground with their big booted feet, it won't be worth anything." he snapped "Especially if they're digging! And by the time they get through with this, I might as well cancel, because we're on a time limit here. Our funds are not infinite."

"I'm sorry Professor." the man said then turned to Sydney "Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood" he said, extending a hand.

"Torchwood?" she said incredulously, shaking the offered hand out of politeness rather than anything else.

"You've heard of us."

"Well, not much. My father once spoke about it."

"What did he tell you?"

"Just that he'd unearthed something once when he was building a bridge in India for the railroad company and he unearthed…something. Torchwood India arrived and removed it before he had a chance to examine it. All he could tell me was that it had on it a language he had never encountered before."

Harkness smiled but said nothing "Professor, I need your help. In return for which I'll move heaven and earth to get you back on schedule as soon as possible. I've read your paper on the "Stone of Thorns". I need to know what it looks like?"

"Why? So you can take it? This is the culmination of my life's work Captain… Harker or Harkness or whoever you are and I am not going to allow you to steal my thunder!"

Nigel checked them both into the hotel in Oxford while Sydney had disappeared to keep her appointment with Professor Harper. They were to be off early the next morning so they had decided to stay the night in the hotel, rather than have to drive from his family home which was quite a long way away out in the Oxfordshire countryside. He went up to their rooms and dumped their bags, then came down to find a coffee in the café bar and wait for her return. As he waited a young man arrived, presumably another hotel guest, dressed, like himself, in immaculate suit and dark tie. The pinstripe was fitted, probably expensive, but perfectly complemented his height and build. He looked tired but cheerful and, as Nigel watched, ambled over to the bar and sat down nearby, ordering coffee and cinnamon toast, exactly what Nigel had ordered. When it arrived, they exchanged a glance and the young man smiled. Nigel smiled back, warily. "Snap" he said, raising a piece of toast. The other man smiled at the small joke.

"On holiday?" the stranger asked "or business?"

"Business" Nigel replied "You?"

A nod "Same here" they smiled again, perfectly civil, polite and distant while appearing friendly and companionable.

"Just waiting for the Boss." the other replied and Nigel smiled "So am I." they ate their toast in silence, sipped their coffee.

"Been to Oxford before?"

"Born near here." Nigel answered "Just been home for a couple of days. I work in America."

"Right."

"You? You must be Welsh with that accent."

A smile "Newport" he sipped his coffee "Never been to Oxford before."

"It's a nice place, you should try to see some of it before you go home."

"Not sure if I'll get the chance, we're only here for a couple of nights."

"Pity. We're off tomorrow too."

"What do you do?"

"I…I'm…" he stuttered "Teaching Assistant." he said "I'm accompanying my boss on a visit here. She's a University Professor."

"Ah."

"Er…yourself?"

"I work for the Government."

"Oh, Civil Service?"

"Sort of."

"Sorry." he said "Very rude of me. The name's Bailey, Nigel Bailey." he said holding out a hand.

It was shaken firmly "Ianto Jones."

Jones looked at him "So how are things 'across the pond'? Where are you based?"

"East Coast. Its not bad actually, but I do miss England." Ianto noted he said England, not Britain or the UK. A traditionalist in every sense of the word even down to the accent, upper class modulations. "And you?" Nigel asked "Where are you based?"

"Cardiff, the centre of the universe." he smiled "When its not raining or blowing a gale its really not that bad." It was Nigel's turn to laugh.

"Well, this is nice and cosy." came a distinctly American voice behind them. They both turned. "Oh God, Ianto, he's just like you!" Jack stared at the two men, both in smart dark suits, both bearing a similar demeanour "Two peas in a pod!" Jack's grin turned to a smirk "I'm thinking threesome here." he suggested and received an alarmed look from Nigel.

"Don't worry about him." Ianto said "You're not safe, you just don't have to worry about him. This is Jack Harkness, my boss."

"Nigel?"

"Oh Thank God" Nigel muttered in relief, seeing the woman come up behind Jack "Sydney, there you are…"

"You two know each other?" Jack asked her.

"This is my Assistant, Nigel Bailey" she said.

"Really, so I'll be seeing more of you then." Jack managed to make the statement suggestive.

"Jack?" Ianto said "Who's your new friend?"

"Oh, this is Professor Sydney Fox, Dr Harper's colleague. They've come all the way from America to help on the dig."

"Ah" Ianto said and stood up, extending a hand to Sydney "My pleasure Ma'am" he said.

"You're right" Sydney agreed "they are two peas in a pod"

**Well, hope that went OK. Maybe some time before I write more of this one. I'm not sure the way it will go. Anyway, please review…must admit to not watching Relic Hunter for a while now, its not been on in the UK as far as I know. So, if I've blundered on any facts, please forgive and let me know! Or you can just put it down to being AU…**


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